The Longcroft Clinic

Updated 12 November 2015

The Longcroft Clinic offers personal medical services to the population of Banstead. There are approximately 11,700 registered patients.

The Longcroft Clinic is run by five partner GPs. The practice is also supported by four salaried GPs, a physician associate, three practice nurses, one healthcare assistant, a team of receptionists, administrative staff, a patient services manager and a business manager. There are six male and three female GPs. At the time of the inspection, one of the GPs was being registered as a partner with CQC and we saw evidence to this effect.

The practice runs a number of services for it patients including asthma clinics, child immunisation clinics, diabetes clinics, new patient checks and holiday vaccinations and advice.

Services are provided from one location:

The Longcroft Clinic, 5 Woodmansterne Lane, Banstead, SM7 3HH

Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm. There is extended opening on Saturday mornings from 9am – 12pm, which is for pre-bookable appointments only.

The practice has opted out of providing Out of Hours services to their patients. When the practice is closed patients are advised to access the 111 service.

Patients using the practice also had access to community staff including a podiatrist, a dietitian, a phlebotomist and midwives.

The practice population has a higher number of patients between 45 and 85 years of age than the national and local CCG average, with a significantly higher proportion of 45-49, 65-69 and 75-85 plus year olds. The practice population also shows a lower number of 0-40 year olds than the national and local CCG average, with a significant lower proportion of 0-4 and 15-29 year olds. There is a slightly higher number of patients with a long standing health condition and lower than average number of patients with caring responsibilities or with a health care problem in daily life. The percentage of registered patients suffering deprivation (affecting both adults and children) is lower than the average for England

Updated 12 November 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Longcroft Clinic . Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Urgent appointments were available on the day they were requested. However, some patients told us that they sometimes had to wait for non-urgent appointments.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.

• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medicine needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care. The practice in collaboration with the patient participation group had run a number of talks around health related issues and we noted more were planned for the coming months.

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people. The practice offered continuity of care with a named GP. There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were good for all standard childhood immunisations. Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. We saw good examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors. A GP partner was involved in a Royal College of General Practitioners child safeguarding multi-site audit.

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice offered continuity of care with a named GP. Elderly patients with complex care needs and those at risk of hospital admission all had personalised care plans that were shared with local organisations to facilitate the continuity of care. For example, dementia and end of life care. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs. The practice supported residents at seven residential/nursing homes and provided regular visits, the monitoring of medicines and physical checks.

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The practice offered continuity of care with a named GP. The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care. For example, the practice offered Saturday morning appointments for those who found it difficult to access the practice during the working week. The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group. GPs offered advice by telephone each day for those patients who had difficulty in attending the practice. The practice provided temporary residents status for students returning from university and provided pre university vaccinations. Practice staff carried out NHS health checks for patients between the ages of 40 and 74 years.

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). The practice offered continuity of care with a named GP. Patients with severe mental health needs had care plans and received annual physical health checks. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia. The local improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) service ran consultations within the practice.

The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

Updated 12 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The practice offered continuity of care with a named GP. The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. It offered longer appointments and carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told vulnerable patients how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and Out of Hours. The practice had audited the sensory needs of their patient population to ensure that future information provided by the practice was in an accessible format. The practice also provided an auditory loop in the surgery and offered email access to those with hearing difficulties.